Po pracy mam ochotę zostać w domu i odpocząć.

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Breakdown of Po pracy mam ochotę zostać w domu i odpocząć.

• dom: the house
• w: in
• i: and

Questions & Answers about Po pracy mam ochotę zostać w domu i odpocząć.

What does po pracy mean literally, and why is pracy not praca?

Po pracy means after work.

The preposition po can mean after, and in this meaning it requires the locative case. That is why praca changes to pracy.

• praca = work
• po pracy = after work

So this is not the basic dictionary form anymore; it is the form required by po.

A few similar examples:

• po szkole = after school
• po obiedzie = after lunch
• po filmie = after the movie

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Why does Polish use mam ochotę here instead of just chcę?

Mam ochotę means something like:

• I feel like
• I’m in the mood to
• I have a desire to

It is softer and more natural here than chcę, which usually means a more direct I want.

So:

• Chcę zostać w domu. = I want to stay at home.
• Mam ochotę zostać w domu. = I feel like staying at home.

In this sentence, mam ochotę sounds very natural because the speaker is describing a feeling after work, not a strong demand or decision.

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Why is it ochotę and not ochota?